Peace before Desires

The Greeks had believed in the ideals of loyalty, sacrifice, and honor. In the play Lysistrata, a group of women come together to help restore peace once again to the city. After a non-ending war had erupted all men were casted away to fight, the women had begun to miss their lovers and the peace that had once surrounded the city. They devise a plan to embark on a journey of “total abstinence from sex” (25), they had believed that if sex were taken off the table them, men would work quickly to resolve their issues and bring peace back to the land.

            The women work together in unity remaining loyal to the plan once it became concrete and permanent. The women had saw that their city was in trouble so they took hold of the problem and tried to find a solution to alleviate the war crisis. The women had sacrificed sex yet knowing “there’s nothing like it” (26). After hearing of the positives that could come out of this plan the women, jump on board whole-heartedly.

            The women had expected this plan to bring the men back to their homes and bring them honor and appreciation. The women were trying to display a different set of skills living above the standards of women rather than as “a member of a sex which can’t even live up to male slanders” (16). These values were so important to the Greeks and these women because it helped keep their plan in order and have people they trusted stay close by and see all the good that was to come. Lysistrata is willing to go to any depths to keep hold of these values, without the other women’s help, she is alone and the plan will never plan correctly. 

This picture is a warning sign to the men who are fighting the war, stop now and obtain peace or never have sex again.